6 JULY 1907, Page 11

The Report of the Departmental Committee of Inquiry on the

Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Ireland has been issued as a Blue-book. The Committee, while recognising the necessity of having the Depart- ment represented in Parliament, think it undesirable that that representative should be the Vice-President. If this Report had been before the House of Commons when the Government caused Sir Horace Plunkett to resign his position as Vice-President because be was not a Member of Parlia- ment, it certainly would have had a great influence on the debate. The Government, having decided to sacrifice Sir Horace Plunkett to the Nationalists, took a safe though inglorious course in anticipating the Report. The episode is a very ugly one.